Hi all -- so bizarre to be asking for windsurfing gear advice after being a North/F2 team rider in the 90s and traveling all over the world to compete... but like a lot of folks here I transitioned to kiting in 2000 and never looked back (until recently) and have ZERO IDEA what's going on with the new gear. I'm looking to update my windsurf kit and and want to be sure I'm comparing apples to apples. So two questions for the community:

1) If I used to ride an 80L board as my primary med-high wind board in the late 90s, would I still be riding an 80L board in today's designs? Or have the design changes altered how much volume to reach for?

2) Same question with sail sizes... if back in the day I was riding a 5.7 in 15-20, a 4.8 in 20-25 and a 4.2 in 25-30, would I still be rigging up the same sizes with today's sails?

I'm not looking to go full light air (yet), but definitely want a board and couple of sails for the fun 20-30 zone. Yew!!!

Boards magazine extensively analyzed your opening question years ago, after trying for years to come up with a meaningful perceived volume conversion factor for Trads vs Stubbies (yesterday's longer/narrower boards vs today's short/wides). They literally gave up. Your answer might lie in experimentation, especially since the choice of old vs new shapes is one of preferences, not correctness.

Depends on which sails. Some are designed to rig big and flat, some smaller and deeper, some with very little leech slack, some with HUGE leech scallops right down to the boom. IOW, we now have many more choices than we did in the '90s, and virtually none of them are inherently wrong.

Then there's the venue impact. 15-20 may not be enough for a 7.0 at one site, but may be plenty for that 5.7 at another; it's all in sensor placement.

1) You should possibly be using a slightly bigger board. That said, we will need to know your weight and what kind of sailing you will want to do. Shorter boards can be used in higher wind for the same volume as the older ones.

2) Same issue we have: we need weight/ size and what type of sailing you want to do. I can sail 4.0 or 7.0 with the same wind depending on the type of equipment I use. If I assume the sail to be wave oriented, and an average weight of 185 then your sizing is about right, though 5.5/4.7/4.0 combo might be slightly better. I would ask what people are rigging at your local spot(s).
I have found that most people have been slowly rigging smaller in the last few years; some of it is due to riding bigger boards, some skills, and some realization that they were rigging bigger than needed (quite common still amongst the older crowd)._________________https://www.surferslist.com/
Sell your used gear!

1. Shorter boards can be used in higher wind for the same volume as the older ones.

2) most people have been slowly rigging smaller in the last few years; some of it is due to riding bigger boards, some skills, and some realization that they were rigging bigger than needed (quite common still amongst the older crowd).

venturi, everything still remains essentially unchanged on your familiar board and sail sizes. However, riding a 5.7 on an 80 liter board can be a bit of stretch in my view, but a lot depends on your weight and how athletic you are. Still though, an 80 liter is perfect 5.4 and down. What kind of windsurfing is your focus?

I reckon, the good North stuff in 1997 is comparable to anything made today.
Sputniks and Axxis can still work as well today, especially if you're a lightweight sailor.
Fins have improved for slalom, not so much for wave or bump sailing.
I still use '97 Raves, Zeta's, and Spectros, and have 2017 sails in the van.

If in 2000 you were on an 80 liter board, today you could ride an 86 liter quad. Today's boards have much less surface area, so, you will not plane up as quickly.Quatro and Goya for instance will slash the waves better than anything you've ever ridden, but you need more volume.

You will enjoy the modern boards once you've taken the time to get back in shape.

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